Saving Seafood

NEFMC to Update Skate Plan Objectives through Amendment 8

February 17, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is developing Amendment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to update two objectives in the original FMP that have become outdated. This amendment is the result of a process that began with Amendment 5 and led to Framework 9, which the Council debated during its February 1-3, 2022 webinar meeting. Here is the sequence of events.

  • Amendment 5: The Council began work on this amendment in 2017 and went through two rounds of scoping. As part of the action, the Council considered establishing limited access in the skate wing and/or bait fisheries and other measures to prevent the triggering of incidental skate possession limits, improve the precision and accuracy of catch data, and better define skate fishery participants. In September 2021, the Council discontinued work on the amendment and concurrently initiated Framework Adjustment 9 to pursue two remaining elements of Amendment 5.
  • Framework 9: This framework was initiated to: (1) update the FMP’s objectives; and (2) revise conditions for federal skate fishing permits. In February 2022, the Council selected “No Action” for the permitting alternatives and agreed to update the FMP objectives through another action — Amendment 8.
  • Amendment 8: The Council has taken final action on the updated FMP objectives. The Council now will submit these changes to NOAA Fisheries for review and implementation under Amendment 8. Updates to the FMP’s goal and objectives need to be implemented through an amendment and therefore could not be accomplished through Framework 9, which is why this additional step is needed.

Read the full release from the NEFMC

NEFMC Drops Limited Access from Skate Amendment 5 Toolbox for Both Wing and Bait Fisheries

April 26, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will continue to work on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, the Council will not be developing alternatives that involve limited access for either the skate wing or skate bait fisheries as part of this amendment. The Council made this decision during its April 13-15, 2021 webinar meeting.

The Council conducted two rounds of scoping for Amendment 5. The first was in 2017 when the amendment was largely focused on limited access and qualification criteria. The second was in January and February of 2021 after the Council agreed to expand the scope of the amendment to consider ways other than limited access to:

  • Prevent triggering incidental skate possession limits;
  • Improve the precision and accuracy of fishery data; and
  • Better define fishery participants.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Propose Northeast Skate Catch Limit Increase

July 18, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries is accepting public comment on its proposed catch and landing limits for Northeast skate.

The federal government is looking to increase the catch limit for the 2018-19 fishing year by almost 1 percent from 2017 to over 69 million pounds.

Skate is used for both food and bait.

NOAA is accepting public comment on its Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan through August 6.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule for Northeast Skate

October 20, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment on a proposed rule to modify the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan.

Framework 4 would alter effort controls and possession limits to help reduce the risk of the skate bait fishery closing down as it did in fishing year 2016. Several measures are proposed to de-couple the skate wing and bait accountability measures, control catch, and provide a more consistent supply of skate bait to the lobster fishery. We propose to:

  • Reduce the Season 3 (November through April) bait skate possession limit from 25,000 lb to 12,000 lb;
  • Reduce the Season 3 bait skate in-season possession limit reduction threshold trigger from 90 to 80 percent;
  • Establish an 8,000-lb incidental possession limit for skate bait when a seasonal threshold trigger is reached; and,
  • Close the skate bait fishery when 100 percent of the quota is projected to be harvested.

To get all the details on these proposed management measures, read the proposed rule as published in theFederal Register today and the background documents available on the Regs.gov website.

We are accepting comments through November 6.

Please submit comments either through the online e-rulemaking portal or by mailing your comments to: John Bullard, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930.

Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for Skates Framework 4.”

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov.